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People shelter from the rain under a vehicle, near the entrance of Lu village near the site where a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane crashed, in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, in this photo taken on March 23 2022. Picture: REUTERS/CARLOS GARCIA RAWLINS
Heavy rain in southern China on Wednesday halted the search for victims and flight information black boxes that could tell why a China Eastern Airlines passenger plane plunged into a mountainside two days earlier with 132 people on board.
Rain water was filling the impact crater in the soft soil, state television reported. The local weather bureau said there could be landslides, torrents and high winds as conditions deteriorated in the mountains of Guangxi region.
Rain is expected to fall for the rest of the week.
Flight MU5735 was en route from the southwestern city of Kunming to Guangzhou on the coast, when the Boeing 737-800 jet suddenly plunged from cruising altitude at about the time when it would normally start to descend ahead of its landing.
The cause of the crash is yet to be determined. Aviation officials say investigation will be difficult because the aircraft is so badly damaged.
Distraught relatives of passengers visited the crash site on Wednesday. Among them was a Zhang retiree surnamed Zhang whose eyes filled with tears as he said his nephew was on the doomed flight.
“I hope the country can thoroughly investigate this matter and find out whether it was the manufacturer’s fault or it was a maintenance problem,” Zhang said.
China had made great strides in improving air safety standards over the past two decades, and Monday’s disaster was the first major crash in a dozen years.
Having gone to Guangxi on Monday to oversee emergency operations, Vice-Premier Liu He urged officials on Tuesday to go “all out in their search as long as there is a glimmer of hope”.
It would be miraculous if anyone was found alive as the plane disintegrated on impact when it plunged from high altitude.
The disaster prompted the aviation regulator to launch a two-week inspection of the sector that will involve checks at all regional air traffic control bureaus, airline companies and flight training institutes to ensure “absolute” safety.
Since the crash, China Eastern and two subsidiaries have grounded their fleet of more than 200 Boeing 737-800 jets.
The last commercial jetliner to crash in mainland China was in 2010, when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines went down.
At the government’s first media briefing on Tuesday night in Guangxi, an aviation official said the 737-800 jet met airworthiness standards before take-off and crew members were in good health.
The plane had three pilots on board on its final flight, aviation authority official Zhui Tao told reporters. Two pilots are normally needed on a 737.
The aircraft did not respond to repeated calls from air controllers during its rapid descent, Zhu said.
FlightRadar24 data showed the aircraft plunged at a rate of 31,000 feet per minute — the height of a 50-storey building every second.
The disaster comes as Boeing seeks to rebound from several crises, notably the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on air travel and safety concern about its 737 MAX model after two deadly crashes.
China Eastern also faces deepening losses and closer regulatory scrutiny.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Rain slows search for crash victims in Guangxi
Heavy rain in southern China on Wednesday halted the search for victims and flight information black boxes that could tell why a China Eastern Airlines passenger plane plunged into a mountainside two days earlier with 132 people on board.
Rain water was filling the impact crater in the soft soil, state television reported. The local weather bureau said there could be landslides, torrents and high winds as conditions deteriorated in the mountains of Guangxi region.
Rain is expected to fall for the rest of the week.
Flight MU5735 was en route from the southwestern city of Kunming to Guangzhou on the coast, when the Boeing 737-800 jet suddenly plunged from cruising altitude at about the time when it would normally start to descend ahead of its landing.
The cause of the crash is yet to be determined. Aviation officials say investigation will be difficult because the aircraft is so badly damaged.
Distraught relatives of passengers visited the crash site on Wednesday. Among them was a Zhang retiree surnamed Zhang whose eyes filled with tears as he said his nephew was on the doomed flight.
“I hope the country can thoroughly investigate this matter and find out whether it was the manufacturer’s fault or it was a maintenance problem,” Zhang said.
China had made great strides in improving air safety standards over the past two decades, and Monday’s disaster was the first major crash in a dozen years.
Having gone to Guangxi on Monday to oversee emergency operations, Vice-Premier Liu He urged officials on Tuesday to go “all out in their search as long as there is a glimmer of hope”.
It would be miraculous if anyone was found alive as the plane disintegrated on impact when it plunged from high altitude.
The disaster prompted the aviation regulator to launch a two-week inspection of the sector that will involve checks at all regional air traffic control bureaus, airline companies and flight training institutes to ensure “absolute” safety.
Since the crash, China Eastern and two subsidiaries have grounded their fleet of more than 200 Boeing 737-800 jets.
The last commercial jetliner to crash in mainland China was in 2010, when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines went down.
At the government’s first media briefing on Tuesday night in Guangxi, an aviation official said the 737-800 jet met airworthiness standards before take-off and crew members were in good health.
The plane had three pilots on board on its final flight, aviation authority official Zhui Tao told reporters. Two pilots are normally needed on a 737.
The aircraft did not respond to repeated calls from air controllers during its rapid descent, Zhu said.
FlightRadar24 data showed the aircraft plunged at a rate of 31,000 feet per minute — the height of a 50-storey building every second.
The disaster comes as Boeing seeks to rebound from several crises, notably the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on air travel and safety concern about its 737 MAX model after two deadly crashes.
China Eastern also faces deepening losses and closer regulatory scrutiny.
Reuters
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